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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Give Yourself a Promotion!

Whether
you love promotion or you hate it, let’s face it: you have to do it if you want
to sell books. For some people, it’s the most dreaded part of being a writer.
But it doesn’t have to be. I’ve come up with some fun ideas that you can put
into practice quite easily. Give one or more of them a try, and let me know how
they work!

1.Have
a three-ring notebook for people to sign up for your newsletter. Take the
notebook with you wherever you have a book event and encourage people to sign
up even if they don’t buy your book. All they generally need to do is provide
you with their name and email address. Make sure you have a pen for them to write
with, and use a ribbon or string to attach the pen to the rings in the notebook
so it doesn’t disappear.

2.When
you design promotional materials, stay away from the usual. I’ve noticed at
conventions that the swag tables have a huge array of different promotional
items and it’s interesting to see which swag readers—and other writers—reach for
first. For example, one author I know of staples a package of two Pepperidge
Farm cookies to each of her postcards. These postcards are among the first to
disappear at conferences. Another author has pens specially printed with her
name and website. One of the coolest things I’ve seen is from author Wendy
Tyson, who writes the Greenhouse Mystery Series. The first book in the series
is out and Wendy takes the book cover and prints it onto a seed packet with
seeds you can plant in your garden. Inspired!!

But what if your budget doesn’t allow
for giveaways? There are still things you can do to make your swag interesting.
Here are a few ideas, but you can brainstorm and come up with so many more.
Each one assumes you are using a postcard with your book cover on one side, so
put one of these ideas to use on the back side:

·Print a recipe from the place where one of
your books is set.

·Provide readers with a list of interesting
facts about the setting of your book.

·Travel tips for people visiting the
setting—these can be funny or serious, but make them fun to read.

·If you write non-fiction, make a list of
reasons people should read the book.

·Print a crossword puzzle using character
names or fun facts about your setting.

3.For
little to no extra cost, you can design a business card or postcard that
reminds people of your brand. The font you choose is one of the most important
elements of this. If you write thrillers, use a font that suggests speed or
movement. If you write cozies, use a font that suggests warmth and charm. And beyond
font, choose your background carefully. Are you a mystery writer? Make it shaded
(but not too dark—you want readers to be able to see everything on the card
clearly) and eerie. Do you write sweet romance? Swirls and curlicues might be
appropriate. Do you write horror? Think about incorporating black, white, and
red into your background. If you use a symbol as part of your brand, make sure
that ends up on your card.

4.I
put candy in a basket when I go to a signing. I always have two kinds—chocolate
and hard candy. This attracts people who might otherwise have passed me by (the
old “feed them and they will come…”) and it gives me a chance to engage them in
conversation—maybe about my books, but not necessarily. When people feel they’re
getting to know an author, they are more likely to think favorably about that
person’s books.

5.This
is one of my favorite ideas: I’ve begun auctioning off the right to name a
character in one of my upcoming books at local charity auctions. This comes with
my promise to put the winner’s name in the acknowledgements of the upcoming
book, too, to thank them for naming such-and-such a character. This is fun for
me and fun for the person who wins, and it generates a great deal of interest
from people who attend the auction. This has the added benefit of helping the
charity, too, because people are spending money for a chance to name a
character.

Note, there are a couple of caveats
that come with this promotional tool: first, you must make clear that you, as
the author, have the right to choose the character you want named. Second, you
must make clear that you have the right to reject names if necessary (does
anyone remember the recent Boaty McBoatface hubbub in naming a British research
vessel?). Third, give your winner some guidelines. For example, the person who
named a character in my current work-in-progress had a few parameters: I needed
a contemporary name that wasn’t too outlandish and that had Celtic or Welsh
origins. My auction winner came up with a great name for me.

Do you have any other
ideas that have worked for you? By all means, share them in the comments below!

9 comments:

I have Thank You cards that thank the server or salesperson, etc., for their service. I leave them with my check when I leave. The front has the thank you comment and an arrow that points to the backside of the card. On the back it has my name, web address and blog address. It gives me a chance to thank someone, they remember me because of the card, and many of them end up buying a book.

I have the usual swag: bookmarks and cards. I like my bookmark because it not only advertises my book, but my unpublished 2nd book in the series (still in the works) and mentions my short stories. I get a lot of mileage from my bookmarks, but bookmarks aren't unique. Pens aren't really unique either, but I've noticed people gobble them up more than they do my bookmarks and cards and the pens carry my website name. Recently, while working with some Middle Tennessee Sisters in Crime members at a tent at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, a SinC member from Alabama joined us (Debra Goldstein). She sold some of her books at the tent and was giving away tiny flashlights with her website address on them. They were a big hit. In fact, the sight of them seemed to draw people to her books. She did quite well in selling them.

Great tips!When I sold my books at a local Halloween festival, I filled a large plastic pumpkin with assorted candy. That drew a lot of people to my table (as you mentioned it would) and I sold out of my books!Whenever I eat at a restaurant, I leave a business card on the table. (This suggestion came from my publisher.)I use every opportunity to promote when I'm out and about. For example, standing at the deli counter at the grocery store waiting my turn provides an excellent opportunity to engage in conversations - and, to those who are readers, I give a business card.

Those are some great tips. Thanks. I think bookmarks are one of the best giveaways. I'm always open to new ideas. One mystery writers I met had a mold made of a tiny pistol, filled it with hot wax. Then she handed out a bookmark in a plastic bag along with the tiny (1 1/2 inch) wax gun. It attracted my attention.

Interesting ideas. We do bookmarks, pens, pencils, postcards. People pick them up, but I am not sure how much they generate sales. I think these work best if you also make a personal connection with the person.We did a promotion of Zapped! Danger in the Cell once where we had children build a model animal cell out of different sizes and shapes of candy. They could then eat the cell. It was great fun, educational, memorable, and definitely gave us a sales boost.

Great ideas! When I met Amy at the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival, she gave me one of her newsletter signup sheets. Like Marilyn, I do blog tours. I have bookmarks, but not much else. I suppose I should have something besides candy to hand out at personal appearances. I like the idea of business cards on the table at restaurants. Tomorrow I’ll start a series of 4 FB giveaways for my upcoming launch. At the SMAF I sat next to Barbara Early, who had a collection of toys (she had a Christmas toy series) and that was very popular.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

9 comments:

I have Thank You cards that thank the server or salesperson, etc., for their service. I leave them with my check when I leave. The front has the thank you comment and an arrow that points to the backside of the card. On the back it has my name, web address and blog address. It gives me a chance to thank someone, they remember me because of the card, and many of them end up buying a book.

I have the usual swag: bookmarks and cards. I like my bookmark because it not only advertises my book, but my unpublished 2nd book in the series (still in the works) and mentions my short stories. I get a lot of mileage from my bookmarks, but bookmarks aren't unique. Pens aren't really unique either, but I've noticed people gobble them up more than they do my bookmarks and cards and the pens carry my website name. Recently, while working with some Middle Tennessee Sisters in Crime members at a tent at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, a SinC member from Alabama joined us (Debra Goldstein). She sold some of her books at the tent and was giving away tiny flashlights with her website address on them. They were a big hit. In fact, the sight of them seemed to draw people to her books. She did quite well in selling them.

Great tips!When I sold my books at a local Halloween festival, I filled a large plastic pumpkin with assorted candy. That drew a lot of people to my table (as you mentioned it would) and I sold out of my books!Whenever I eat at a restaurant, I leave a business card on the table. (This suggestion came from my publisher.)I use every opportunity to promote when I'm out and about. For example, standing at the deli counter at the grocery store waiting my turn provides an excellent opportunity to engage in conversations - and, to those who are readers, I give a business card.

Those are some great tips. Thanks. I think bookmarks are one of the best giveaways. I'm always open to new ideas. One mystery writers I met had a mold made of a tiny pistol, filled it with hot wax. Then she handed out a bookmark in a plastic bag along with the tiny (1 1/2 inch) wax gun. It attracted my attention.

Interesting ideas. We do bookmarks, pens, pencils, postcards. People pick them up, but I am not sure how much they generate sales. I think these work best if you also make a personal connection with the person.We did a promotion of Zapped! Danger in the Cell once where we had children build a model animal cell out of different sizes and shapes of candy. They could then eat the cell. It was great fun, educational, memorable, and definitely gave us a sales boost.

Great ideas! When I met Amy at the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival, she gave me one of her newsletter signup sheets. Like Marilyn, I do blog tours. I have bookmarks, but not much else. I suppose I should have something besides candy to hand out at personal appearances. I like the idea of business cards on the table at restaurants. Tomorrow I’ll start a series of 4 FB giveaways for my upcoming launch. At the SMAF I sat next to Barbara Early, who had a collection of toys (she had a Christmas toy series) and that was very popular.

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